Method and system for compensation of interference cancellation delay

ABSTRACT

Aspects of a method and system for compensation of interference cancellation delay are provided. In this regard, a wireless communication device may receive one or more signals and may be operable to select, whether dynamically or statically, a processing path for processing the one or more received signals. The selected processing path may comprise one of an interference cancellation processing path and a pass-through processing path. A delay introduced by the pass-through processing path may be approximately equal to a processing delay introduced by the interference cancellation processing path. The one or more received signals may comprise HSDPA signals. The selection of processing path may be based on a measure of interference present in the one or more received signals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application makes reference to:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/582,771 (Attorney Docket No. 20700US01) filed on Oct. 21, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/604,978 (Attorney Docket No. 20701US01) filed on Oct. 23, 2009; U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/242,524 (Attorney Docket No. 20702US01) filed on Sep. 15, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/573,803 (Attorney Docket No. 20702US02) filed on Oct. 5, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/604,976 (Attorney Docket No. 20703US01) filed on Oct. 23, 2009; U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/246,797 (Attorney Docket No. 20705US01) filed on Sep. 29, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/575,879 (Attorney Docket No. 20705US02) filed on Oct. 8, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 20706US01) filed on ______; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 20707US01) filed on even date herewith; U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/242,554 (Attorney Docket No. 20708US01) filed on Sep. 15, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 20708US02) filed on ______; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/575,840 (Attorney Docket No. 20709US01) filed on Oct. 8, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/605,000 (Attorney Docket No. 20710US01) filed on Oct. 23, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/543,283 (Attorney Docket No. 20711US01) filed on Aug. 18, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/570,736 (Attorney Docket No. 20712US01) filed on Sep. 30, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/577,080 (Attorney Docket No. 20713US01) filed on Oct. 9, 2009; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/603,304 (Attorney Docket No. 20714US01) filed on Oct. 21, 2009.

Each of the above referenced applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to wireless communications. More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a method and system for compensation of interference cancellation delay.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) is a third generation (3G) cellular technology that enables the concurrent transmission of a plurality of distinct digital signals via a common RF channel. WCDMA supports a range of communications services that include voice, high speed data and video communications. One such high speed data communications service, which is based on WCDMA technology, is the high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) service.

WCDMA is a spread spectrum technology in which each digital signal is coded or “spread” across the RF channel bandwidth using a spreading code. Each of the bits in the coded digital signal is referred to as a “chip”. A given base transceiver station (BTS), which concurrently transmits a plurality of distinct digital signals, may encode each of a plurality of distinct digital signals by utilizing a different spreading code for each distinct digital signal. At a typical BTS, each of these spreading codes is referred to as a Walsh code. The Walsh coded digital signal may in turn be scrambled by utilizing a pseudo normal (PN) bit sequence to generate chips. An example of a PN bit sequence is a Gold code. Each of a plurality of BTS within an RF coverage area may utilize a distinct PN bit sequence. Consequently, Walsh codes may be utilized to distinguish distinct digital signals concurrently transmitted from a given BTS via a common RF channel while PN bit sequences may be utilized to distinguish digital signals transmitted by distinct BTSs. The utilization of Walsh codes and PN sequences may increase RF frequency spectrum utilization by allowing a larger number of wireless communications to occur concurrently within a given RF frequency spectrum. Accordingly, a greater number of users may utilize mobile communication devices, such as mobile telephones, Smart phones and/or wireless computing devices, to communicate concurrently via wireless communication networks.

A user utilizing a mobile communication device, MU_1, may be engaged in a communication session with a user utilizing a mobile communication device MU_2 via a base transceiver station, BTS_A within wireless communication network. For example, the mobile communication device MU_1 may transmit a digital signal to the BTS_A, which the base transceiver station BTS_A may then transmit to the mobile communication device MU_2. The base transceiver station BTS_A may encode signals received from the mobile communication device MU_1 and transmitted to the mobile communication device MU_2 by utilizing a Walsh code, W_12, and a PN sequence, PN_A. The mobile communication device MU_2 may receive signals transmitted concurrently by a plurality of base transceiver stations (BTSs) in addition to the base transceiver station BTS_A within a given RF coverage area. The mobile communication device MU_2 may process the received signals by utilizing a descrambling code that is based on the PN sequence PN_A and a despreading code that is based on the Walsh code W_12. In doing so, the mobile communication device MU_2 may detect a highest relative signal energy level for signals received from base transceiver station BTS_A, which comprise a digital signal corresponding to mobile communication device MU_1.

However, the mobile communication device MU_2 may also detect signal energy from the digital signals, which correspond to signals from mobile communication devices other than the mobile communication device MU_1. The other signal energy levels from each of these other mobile communication devices may be approximated by Gaussian white noise, but the aggregate noise signal energy level among the other mobile communication device may increase in proportion to the number of other mobile communication devices whose signals are received at the mobile communication device MU_2. This aggregate noise signal energy level may be referred to as multiple access interference (MAI). The MAI may result from signals transmitted by the base transceiver station BTS_A, which originate from signal received at the base transceiver station BTS_A from mobile communication devices other than mobile communication device MU_1. The MAI may also result from signals transmitted by the base transceiver stations BTSs other than the base transceiver station BTS_A. The MAI and other sources of noise signal energy may interfere with the ability of MU_2 to successfully decode signals received from MU_1.

An additional source of noise signal energy may result from multipath interference. The digital signal energy corresponding to the mobile communication device MU_2, which is transmitted by the base transceiver station BTS_A may disperse in a wavefront referred to as a multipath. Each of the components of the multipath may be referred to as a multipath signal. Each of the multipath signals may experience a different signal propagation path from the base transceiver station BTS_A to the mobile communication device MU_2. Accordingly, different multipath signals may arrive at different time instants at the mobile communication device MU_2. The time duration, which begins at the time instant that the first multipath signal arrives at the mobile communication device MU_2 and ends at the time instant that the last multipath signal arrives at the mobile communication device MU_2 is referred to as a delay spread. The mobile communication device MU_2 may utilize a rake receiver that allows the mobile communication device MU_2 to receive signal energy from a plurality of multipath signals received within a receive window time duration. The receive window time duration may comprise at least a portion of the delay spread time duration. Multipath signals, which are not received within the receive window time duration may also contribute to noise signal energy.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method is provided for compensation of interference cancellation delay, substantially as illustrated by and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the present invention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary wireless communication system, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary communication device, which is operable to provide interference suppression for WCDMA, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary WCDMA receiver with interference suppression, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary interference cancellation module, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for processing wireless signals, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and system for compensation of interference cancellation delay. In various embodiments of the invention, a wireless communication device may receive one or more signals and may be operable to select, whether dynamically or statically, a processing path for processing the one or more received signals. The selected processing path may comprise one of an interference cancellation processing path and a pass-through processing path. A delay introduced by the pass-through processing path may be approximately equal to a processing delay introduced by the interference cancellation processing path. The one or more received signals may comprise HSDPA signals. The selection of processing path may be based on a measure of interference present in the one or more received signals.

The selection of processing path may be based on an indication of interference present in the one or more received signals. The selection of processing path may be performed for each burst—256-chip bursts, for example—of the one or more signals. The indication of interference for a current burst may be based on one or more previous bursts. The sample rate of the received signals may be adjusted in one or both of the pass-through path and the interference cancellation path. The one or more signals may be received from a non-listened base transceiver station of the wireless communication device. Processing via the interference cancellation path may comprise a weighting iteration; one or more addback, weighting, and un-addback iterations; and an addback iteration. The delay introduced by the pass-through processing path and the interference cancellation processing path may be equal to a fixed number of chip times of the received signals.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary wireless communication system, in accordance with an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a cell 100 comprising BTSs 102 and 104, a cell 134 comprising BTS 108, and a BTS 106. Also shown are mobile communication devices MU_1 112 and MU_2 114.

The mobile communication devices MU_1 112 and MU_2 114 may be engaged in a communication via the BTS A 102. The mobile communication device MU_1 112 may transmit signals to the BTS A 102 via an uplink RF channel 122. In response, the BTS A 102 may transmit signals to the mobile communication device MU_2 114 via a downlink RF channel 124. Signals transmitted by the BTS A 102 may comprise chips that are generated utilizing a scrambling code PN A. The signals transmitted via RF channel 124 may be spread utilizing a spreading code WC_12. The spreading code WC_12 may comprise an orthogonal variable spreading factor (OVSF) code, for example a Walsh code, which enables the mobile communication device MU_2 114 to distinguish signals transmitted by the BTS A 102 via the downlink RF channel 124 from signals transmitted concurrently by the BTS A 102 via other downlink RF channels, for example downlink RF channel 126. The BTS A 102 may utilize one or more OVSF codes, WC_other, when spreading data transmitted via downlink RF channel 126. The one or more OVSF codes, WC_other, may be distinct from the OVSF code WC_12. Signals communicated via the RF channel 124 may comprise, for example, HSDPA signals.

The mobile communication device MU_2 114 may receive MAI signals from RF channel 126, RF channel 128, and RF channel 130. As stated above, signals received via RF channel 126 may be transmitted by the BTS A 102. The signals received via RF channel 128 may be transmitted by the BTS B 104. The signals transmitted by the BTS n 104 may be scrambled based on a scrambling code PN_B. The signals received via RF channel 130 may be transmitted by the BTS C 106. The signals transmitted by the BTS C 106 may be scrambled based on a scrambling code PN_C.

The mobile communication device MU_2 114 may be operable to perform a soft handoff from the current serving BTS A 102 to any of a plurality of BTSs located within the cell 100, for example, the BTS B 104. Accordingly, the mobile communication device MU_2 114 may be operable to process received signals based on scrambling code PN_A and/or scrambling code PN_B. In this regard, the mobile communication device MU_2 114 may send data to the BTS A 102 and/or the BTS B 104, and data destined for mobile communication device MU_2 114 may be received via the BTS A 102 and/or the BTS B 104. Thus, the BTS A 102 and the BTS B 104 may be referred to as “listened” BTSs. Conversely, the mobile communication device MU_2 114 may not be operable to perform a soft handoff from the current serving BTS A 102 to a BTS that is outside of the cell 100—the BTS C 106, for example. In this regard, the mobile communication device MU_2 114 may not transmit data to the BTS C 106 or receive data destined for the mobile communication device MU_2 114 from the BTS C 106. Accordingly, the BTS A 102 and the BTS B 104 may be referred to as “non-listened” BTSs.

While the desired signal at the mobile communication device MU_2 114 may be received via RF channel 124, the mobile communication device MU_2 114 may also receive signal energy via the RF channel 126 and the RF channel 128. The received signal energies from the RF channels 126 and/or 128 may result in MAI, which may interfere with the ability of the mobile communication device MU_2 114 to receive desired signals via RF channel 124. Accordingly, in various aspects of the invention, the mobile communication device MU_2 114 may be operable to suppress interference resulting from undesired signals transmitted by listened BTSs. Additionally, even though the BTS is not a listened BTS, information transmitted on the RF channel 130—data transmitted to mobile communication devices other than mobile communication device MU_2 114—may nevertheless interfere with the desired signals on the RF channel 124. Accordingly, in various aspects of the invention, the mobile communication device MU_2 114 is operable to suppress interference from the non-listened BTS 106, or non-listened BTSs.

Although FIG. 1 depicts communication between two mobile devices via a single BTS, the invention is not so limited. For example, aspects of the invention may be equally applicable regardless of the origin of data communicated wirelessly to the mobile communication device 114.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary communication device, which may utilize interference suppression for WCDMA, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a transceiver system 200, a receiving antenna 222, and a transmitting antenna 232. The transceiver system 200 may comprise a receiver 202, a transmitter 204, a processor 206, an interference cancellation module 210 and a memory 208. The interference cancellation module 210 may comprise a plurality of per cell modules 212 a, 212 b, 212 c and 212 d. Although a separate receiver 202 and transmitter 204 are illustrated by FIG. 2, the invention is not limited. In this regard, the transmit function and receive function may be integrated into a single transceiver block. The transceiver system 200 may also comprise a plurality of transmitting antennas and/or a plurality of receiving antennas, for example to support diversity transmission and/or diversity reception. Various embodiments of the invention may comprise a single antenna, which is coupled to the transmitter 204 and receiver 202 via a transmit and receive (T/R) switch. The T/R switch may selectively couple the single antenna to the receiver 202 or to the transmitter 204 under the control of the processor 206, for example.

The receiver 202 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to perform receive functions that may comprise PHY layer function for the reception or signals. These PHY layer functions may comprise, but are not limited to, the amplification of received RF signals, generation of frequency carrier signals corresponding to selected RF channels, for example uplink or downlink channels, the down-conversion of the amplified RF signals by the generated frequency carrier signals, demodulation of data contained in data symbols based on application of a selected demodulation type, and detection of data contained in the demodulated signals. The RF signals may be received via the receiving antenna 222. The receiver 202 may process the received RF signals to generate baseband signals. A chip-level baseband signal may comprise a plurality of chips. The chip-level baseband signal may be descrambled based on a PN sequence and despread based on an OVSF code, for example a Walsh code, to generate a symbol-level baseband signal. The symbol-level baseband signal may comprise a plurality of data symbols. The receiver 202 may comprise a rake receiver, which in turn comprises a plurality of rake fingers to process a corresponding plurality of received multipath signals.

The transmitter 204 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to perform transmit functions that may comprise PHY layer function for the transmission or signals. These PHY layer functions may comprise, but are not limited to, modulation of received data to generate data symbols based on application of a selected modulation type, generation of frequency carrier signals corresponding to selected RF channels, for example uplink or downlink channels, the up-conversion of the data symbols by the generated frequency carrier signals, and the generation and amplification of RF signals. The RF signals may be transmitted via the transmitting antenna 232.

The memory 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may enable storage and/or retrieval of data and/or code. The memory 208 may utilize any of a plurality of storage medium technologies, such as volatile memory, for example random access memory (RAM), and/or non-volatile memory, for example electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM).

The interference cancellation module 210 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that are operable to suppress interference signals, relative to a desired signal, in a received signal. The received signal may comprise one or more desired signals and one or more interference signals. The interference cancellation module 210 may generate an interference suppressed versions of the one or more signals in which the signal level for the interference signals is reduced relative to the signal level for the desired signal. In this regard, the interference suppressed version of the signal may be an estimate of the signal as transmitted.

Each of the per-cell modules 212 a, 212 b, 212 c, and 212 d may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to generate an interference suppressed version of a signal received from a particular listened or non-listened BTS. Each of the per-cell modules 212 a, 212 b, 212 c and 212 d may be associated with a particular signal source, where the signal source may be identified by a particular PN sequence and may correspond to a particular transmit antenna of a particular BTS. In this regard, each of the per-cell modules 212 a, 212 b, 212 c, and 212 d may be individually configured with a PN sequence corresponding to the associated BTS. In generating a an interference suppressed version of a received signal, each of the per-cell modules 212 a, 212 b, 212 c and 212 d may be operable to perform a weighting iteration; one or more addback, weighting, and un-addback iterations; and an addback iteration.

In operation, the receiver 202 may receive signals via the receiving antenna 222. In various embodiments of the invention, the receiver 202 may utilize a plurality of receiving antennas. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the receiver 202 may comprise a rake receiver. The receiver 202 may communicate signals to the processor 206 and/or to the interference cancellation module 210.

The receiver 202 may generate timing information that corresponds to each of the fingers in the rake receiver portion of the receiver 202. Each of the fingers in the rake receiver may process one or more multipath signals that are received within a delay spread time duration from a corresponding one or more transmit antennas of a particular BTS. In instances where the receiver 202 utilizes a plurality of receiving antennas, the receiver 202 may associate each of the plurality of multipath signals with a receiving antenna through which the multipath signals was received by the receiver 202. Based on received multipath signals, the receiver 202 may generate chip-level baseband signals.

The receiver 202 may communicate the chip-level baseband signals and/or generated timing information to the interference cancellation module 210. The rake receiver 202 may generate one or more descrambled baseband signals for each receive antenna utilized by the receiver 202 based on a corresponding selected one or more PN sequences. The descrambled baseband signals and/or generated timing information may be communicated to the processor 206. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the rake receiver 202 associated with mobile communication device MU_2 may select a PN sequence, PN_A, which may then be utilized to generate the descrambled baseband signals from the chip-level baseband signal. The descrambled baseband signals communicated to the processor 206 may comprise common pilot channel (CPICH) information.

In instances where the receiver 202 utilizes a plurality of receiving antennas, the receiver 202 may generate one or more descrambled baseband signals for each receiving antenna based on the corresponding multipath signals received by the receiver 202. Each of the descrambled baseband signals, generated from signals received via a corresponding receiving antenna, may be respectively communicated to the processor 206.

The processor 206 may utilize CPICH information to compute a plurality of channel estimate values or, in various embodiments of the invention, the receiver 202 may compute the channel estimate values. The processor 206 and/or receiver 202 may compute one or more channel estimate values corresponding to each multipath signal, which was transmitted by a given transmit antenna of a given BTS and received at a finger in the rake receiver via a given receiving antenna. The computed channel estimate values may be represented as a channel estimate matrix, H_(bts,rx,fgr), where bts represents a numerical index that is associated with a given BTS, rx represents a numerical index that is associated with a given receiving antenna, and fgr is a numerical index that is associated with a given rake finger. The processor 206 may be operable to communicate the computed channel estimate values to the receiver 202 and/or to the interference cancellation module 210 and/or to the memory 208. The processor 206 may compute and/or select one or more interference cancellation parameter values, which control the signal interference cancellation performance of the interference cancellation module 210. The processor 206 may communicate the interference cancellation parameter values to the interference cancellation module 210 and/or to the memory 208.

The processor 206 may identify one or more BTSs with which the transceiver 200 may communicate. The one or more BTSs may comprise a current serving BTS and one or more handoff BTSs. The processor 206 may determine a PN sequence for each of the identified one or more BTSs. The processor 206 may configure one or more of the per-cell modules 212 a, 212 b, 212 c and 212 d with a corresponding selected one or more PN sequences, wherein each selected PN sequence may be selected from the set of determined PN sequences.

In various embodiments of the invention, the processor 206 may identify one or more BTSs, which with respect to the transceiver 200, are neither a current serving BTS nor a handoff BTS. These base stations may be referred to as non-listened BTSs of the transceiver 200. The processor 206 may determine a PN sequence for each identified non-listened BTS. The processor 206 may configure one or more of the per-cell modules 212 a, 212 b, 212 c and 212 d with a corresponding selected PN sequence for one or more non-listened BTSs.

The processor 206 may also determine the number of receiving antennas, which are utilized by the transceiver 200 to receive signals. For each receiving antenna, the processor 206 may configure a corresponding plurality of per-cell modules 212 a, 212 b, 212 c and 212 d with a PN sequence selected from the set of determined PN sequences.

The following is a discussion of exemplary operation for the per-cell module 212 a. The operation of per-cell modules 212 b, 212 c and 212 d is substantially similar to the operation of per-cell module 212 a as described below.

The processor 206 may also configure the per-cell module 212 a with interference cancellation parameter values. In various embodiments of the inventions, the interference cancellation parameter values configured for per-cell module 212 a may be equal to corresponding interference cancellation parameter values utilized by other per-cell modules 212 b, 212 c and 212 d. In other embodiments of the invention, the interference cancellation parameter values configured for the per-cell module 212 a may be selected independently from the corresponding interference cancellation parameter values utilized by other per-cell modules 212 b, 212 c and 212 d.

The processor 206 may associate one or more rake fingers with the per-cell module 212 a. The processor 206 may communicate the channel estimate values, H_(bts,rx,fgr), corresponding to each finger, fgr, associated with the per-cell module 212 a. The receiver 202 may communicate timing information for each corresponding rake finger. The processor 206 may configure the per-cell module 212 a with a PN sequence corresponding to a BTS.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the processor 206 may configure the per-cell module 212 a with the PN sequence for a serving BTS 102, for example PN_A. Accordingly, the receiver 202 may communicate channel estimate values, H_(bts,rx,fgr), and timing information for signals transmitted via RF channel 124 and received via receiving antenna 222 for each corresponding finger in the rake receiver that is associated with the per-cell module 212 a. The per-cell module 212 a may generate and/or retrieve a plurality of OVSF codes and/or one or more interference cancellation parameter values in the memory 208. In various embodiments of the invention, the plurality of OVSF codes may comprise one or more OVSF codes, which may potentially be utilized by the BTS 102 to generate signals transmitted via RF channel 124. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the plurality of OVSF codes comprises 256 distinct Walsh codes. While the per-cell module 212 a is associated with the serving BTS 102, each of the remaining per-cell modules 212 b, 212 c, and 212 d may be associated with a different listening or non-listening BTS.

In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the processor 206 may configure the per-cell module 212 a with the PN sequence for a handoff BTS 104, for example PN_B. Accordingly, the receiver 202 may communicate channel estimate values, H_(bts,rx,fgr), and timing information for signals transmitted via RF channel 128 and received via receiving antenna 222 for each corresponding finger in the rake receiver that is associated with the per-cell module 212 a. While the per-cell module 212 a is associated with the handoff BTS 104, each of the remaining per-cell modules 212 b, 212 c, and 212 d may be associated with a different listening or non-listening BTS.

In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the processor 206 may configure the per-cell module 212 a with the PN sequence for a non-listened BTS 106, for example PN_C. Accordingly, the receiver 202 may communicate channel estimate values, H_(bts,rx,fgr), and timing information for signals transmitted via RF channel 130 and received via receiving antenna 222 for each corresponding finger in the rake receiver that is associated with the per-cell module 212 a. While the per-cell module 212 a is associated with the non-listened BTS 104, each of the remaining per-cell modules 212 b, 212 c, and 212 d may be associated with a different listening or non-listening BTS.

In instances in which the transceiver system 200 utilizes a plurality of receiving antennas, for example the receiving antennas 222_1 and 222_2, the transceiver system 200 may utilize receive diversity. In a receive diversity system, the receiver 202 may receive a first set of signals via the receiving antenna 222_1 and a second set of signals via the receiving antenna 222_2. The processor 206 may configure the per-cell module 212 a, as described above, to receive signals via the receiving antenna 222_1, while the processor 206 configures the per-cell module 212 b, as described above, to receive signals via the receiving antenna 222_2.

In a transceiver system 200, which utilizes receive diversity, the processor 206 may compute a first set of channel estimate values corresponding to receiving antenna 222_1 and a second set of channel estimate values corresponding to receiving antenna 222_2. The computed channel estimate values may be represented as a channel estimate matrix, H_(bts,rx,fgr), where rx represents a numerical index that is associated with a given receiving antenna. The receiver 202 may generate a first set of timing information for signals received via the receiving antenna 222_1 and the receiver 202 may generate a second set of timing information for signals received via the receiving antenna 222_2. In various embodiments of the invention, which utilize receive diversity, the receiver 202 and/or the interference cancellation module 210 may also process signals that are transmitted by BTSs, which utilize signal transmission diversity.

After being configured for interference cancellation operation, the per-cell module 212 a may receive one or more multipath signals from the receiver 202 via a corresponding one or more rake fingers that are associated with the per-cell module 212 a. The signals received by the per-cell module 212 a may comprise chip-level baseband signals. The per-cell module 212 a may combine the received one or more chip-level signals by utilizing the corresponding channel estimate values, and/or the corresponding timing information, based on, for example, maximal ratio combining (MRC) and/or equal gain combining (EGC). The per-cell module 212 a may utilize the configured PN sequence to descramble the combined chip-level signal. Based on this descrambling of the combined signals, the per-cell module 212 a may generate descrambled signals.

The per-cell module 212 a may process the descrambled signals by utilizing each of the plurality of OVSF codes to generate a corresponding plurality of symbol-level signals. Each symbol-level signal associated with an OVSF code may be referred to herein as a corresponding user signal. Notwithstanding, multiple OVSF codes may be associated with a single user and thus there may not necessarily be a one-to-one correspondence between OVSF codes and users. For example, a signal associated with a j^(th) OVSF code may be referred to as a j^(th) user signal. Referring to FIG. 1, for example, the OVSF code WC_12 may be associated with a user signal that is transmitted from base station A 102 to the mobile telephone MC_2 114.

The per-cell module 212 a may compute a signal power level value and a noise power level value corresponding to each of the user signals. Based on the computed signal power level value, noise power level value and the one or more interference cancellation parameter values, the per-cell module 212 a may compute a weighting factor value corresponding to each user signal. The plurality of weighting factor values associated with each BTS may be represented as a weighting factor matrix, A_(bts), where bts represents a numerical index value that is associated with a given BTS. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the weighting factor values for a given BTS may be computed as illustrated by the following equations:

$\begin{matrix} {z_{j} \cong \frac{\lambda \; x_{j}^{2}}{{\lambda \; x_{j}^{2}} + y_{j}^{2}}} & \left\lbrack {1a} \right\rbrack \end{matrix}$

when

x_(j) ²>γy_(j) ²  [1b]

and:

z_(j)=0  [1c]

when

x_(j) ²<γy_(j) ²  [1d]

where z_(j) represents the weighting factor value for the j^(th) user signal and j may be, for example, an integer from 0 to J; x_(j) ² represents the signal power level value for the j^(th) user signal, which was generated by descrambling a received signal based on a PN sequence for the given BTS and despreading the descrambled signal utilizing the OVSF code associated with the j^(th) user; y_(j) ² represents the noise power level value for the j^(th) user signal, which was generated by descrambling the received signal based on the PN sequence for the given BTS and despreading the descrambled signal utilizing the OVSF code associated with the j^(th) user; and λ and γ represent interference cancellation parameter values.

The weighting factor values z_(j) may correspond to a signal to noise ratio (SNR) measure for the j^(th) user signal. Values for z_(i) may be within the range 0≦z_(j) ²≦1. In one regard, values of z_(j) may be an a priori measure of confidence that a given user signal comprises valid signal energy that was transmitted by the BTS.

In various embodiments of the invention, the per-cell module 212 a may be operable to process received chip-level signals by performing a weighting iteration, one or more weighting and addback iterations and an addback iteration. During the weighting iteration, the per-cell module 212 a may receive a chip-level multipath signal from each associated finger and generate a corresponding estimated chip-level signal for each associated finger. During the one or more weighting and addback iterations, the per-cell module 212 a may receive a residual chip-level signal from each associated finger and generate a corresponding incremental chip-level signal for each associated finger. During the addback iteration, the per-cell module 212 a may receive an updated residual chip-level signal from each associated finger and generate a corresponding interference suppressed chip-level signal for each associated finger. The interference suppressed chip-level signal may correspond to an interference suppressed version of the received multipath signal. The interference suppressed chip-level signals may be output to each corresponding rake finger. Each of the rake fingers may then process its respective interference suppressed chip-level signals.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary WCDMA receiver with interference suppression, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a portion of WCDMA receiver 300 comprising an interference cancellation module 302, a delay buffer 304, a HSDPA processor 306, an HSDPA switching device 308, interference cancellation (IC) bypass switching device 310, and a plurality of rake fingers 312, 314 and 316. The interference cancellation module 302 may correspond to the interference cancellation module 210 as presented in FIG. 2. The rake fingers 312, 314 and 316 represent fingers in a rake receiver. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the HSDPA switching device 308 and the IC bypass switching device 310 may be configured by the processor 206.

The delay buffer 304 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive a burst of a chip-level signal 324 as input at a given input time instant and output it as a burst of a chip-level signal 326 at a subsequent output time instant. The time duration between the input time instant and the output time instant may be referred to as a delay time duration. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the delay time duration corresponds to 512 chips.

The HSDPA processor 306 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide HSDPA processing of received signals.

In operation, the HSDPA switching device 308 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that are operable to select an input signal to the HSDPA processor 306. As illustrated with respect to FIG. 3, the HSDPA switching device 308 is configured so that it is operable to supply an interference suppressed signal 328, generated by the interference cancellation module 302, as an input to the HSDPA processor 306. As indicated in FIG. 3, this configuration of the HSDPA switching device 308 may result in the HSDPA switching device 308 operating in a HSDPA interference cancellation (IC) mode.

The HSDPA switching device 308 may also be configured so that it is operable to supply the baseband signal 324, generated by the receiver 202, as an input to the HSDPA processor 306. As indicated in FIG. 3, this configuration of the HSDPA switching device 308 may result in the HSDPA switching device 308 operating in a normal HSDPA mode.

The HSDPA switching device 308 may also be configured such that no input signal is supplied to the HSDPA processor 306. As indicated in FIG. 3, this configuration of the HSDPA switching device 308 may result in the HSDPA switching device 308 operating in a HSDPA data path off mode.

The IC bypass switching device 310 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that are operable to select an input signal to the rake fingers 312, 314 and 316. As illustrated with respect to FIG. 3, the IC bypass switching device 310 is configured so that it is operable to supply an interference suppressed signal 322, generated by the interference cancellation module 302, as an input to the rake fingers 312, 314 and 316.

The IC bypass switching device 310 may also be configured so that it is operable to supply a signal 326, which is output from the delay buffer 304, as an input to the rake fingers 312, 314 and 316. The signal 326 output from the delay buffer 304 may comprise a time-delayed, and possibly up-sampled or down-sampled, version of the signal 324 generated by the receiver 202. As indicated in FIG. 3, the signal 326 output from the delay buffer 304 may comprise unsuppressed interference.

Each of the rake fingers 312, 314 and 316 may receive, as input, the chip-level baseband signal 324 generated by the receiver 202. Based on the input baseband signal 324 from the receiver 202, each rake finger 312, 314 and 316 may generate channel estimates and rake finger timing information. In various embodiments of the invention, each rake finger 312, 314 and 316 may generate the channel estimates and/or rake finger timing information for selected multipath signals based on CPICH data received via the input baseband signal 324 received from the receiver 202. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, which comprises a receive diversity system, channel estimates and/or rake finger timing information may be generated for RF signals received at the receiver 202 via at least a portion of a plurality of receiving antennas. Each rake finger 312, 314 and 316 may communicate, as one or more signals 318, its respective channel estimates, rake finger timing information, scaling factors K_(fgr), scrambling codes associated with one or more BTSs, and/or other information to the interference cancellation module 302.

In various embodiments of the invention, the interference cancellation module 302 may receive chip-level signals 326 from the delay buffer 304. Based on the channel estimates, rake finger timing, and/or other information communicated via the signal(s) 318, the interference cancellation module 302 may select individual multipath signals from the chip-level signals 326 received via the delay buffer 304. Based on the interference cancellation parameters 320, which may be as described with respect to FIG. 2, the interference cancellation module 302 may process the received chip-level multipath signal 326 utilizing an iterative method for interference cancellation, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

The chip-level signals 326 received from the delay buffer 304 may comprise a plurality of multipath signals received via one or more receive antennas from one or more transmit antennas of one or more BTSs. The interference cancellation module 302 may be configurable to assign signal processing resources to perform the iterative method of interference cancellation for selected multipath signals. The processor 206 may configure the interference cancellation module 302 to receive multipath signals from one or more transmit antennas of one or more listened and/or non-listened BTSs. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, which comprises a receive diversity system, the selected multipath signals may be received via one or more of a plurality of receiving antennas. The processor 206 may configure the interference cancellation module 302 for receive diversity.

The interference cancellation module 302 may receive interference cancellation parameters 320 from the processor 206 and/or from the memory 208. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the interference cancellation module 302 may generate and/or retrieve PN sequences and/or OVSF codes from the memory 208. The PN sequences may be generated on the fly based on the code structure utilized by the BTS and/or based on timing information associated with the BTS. The interference cancellation module 302 may retrieve and/or generate a PN sequence for each of the one or more transmit antennas of the one or more BTSs from which the interference cancellation module 302 is configured to attempt to receive a signal and/or for one or more BTSs that are not listened to, but still may interfere with desired signals.

In various embodiments of the invention in which the receiver 202 utilizes a plurality of receiving antennas and/or receives data from a plurality of transmit antennas, data received via the symbol-level signals corresponding to the plurality of receiving antennas and/or transmit antennas may be decoded by utilizing various diversity decoding methods. Various embodiments of the invention may also be practiced when the receiver 202 is utilized in a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication system. In instances where the receiver 202 is utilized in a MIMO communication system, data received via the symbol-level signals, received via the plurality of receiving antennas, may be decoded by utilizing various MIMO decoding and/or diversity decoding methods.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary interference cancellation module, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown an interference cancellation module 302 comprising a channel estimate (CHEST) pre-processing block 401, interference cancellation per-cell modules 403A, 403B, 403C, 403D, an interference cancellation subtractor 405, an HSDPA interpolation and delay block 407, a switching element 452, a finger MUX 409, and an interpolator 411.

The CHEST pre-processing block 401 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to normalize channel estimate information input as signal 412 to the Per-Cell Modules 403 and the interpolator 411. The normalization may be based on channel estimate and rake finger timing and scaling information 318 received from the rake fingers 312, 314, and 316.

The subtractor 405 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to subtract estimated signals from received signals as part of the generation of an interference suppressed version of the received signals. The subtractor 405 may be operable to receive, as inputs, signals generated by the Per-Cell modules 403A-403D that may be interpolated by the interpolator 411, as well as bursts of the delayed received signal 326 from the delay buffer 304.

The HSDPA interpolation and delay module 407 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to provide a bypass path for signals received from the delay buffer 304. In this regard, the HSDPA interpolation and delay module 407 may generate the signal 451 from the signal 326. In generating the signal 451, the HSDPA interpolation and delay module 407 may delay and/or adjust a sample rate of the signal 326. With regard to sample rate adjust, the HSDPA interpolation and delay module 407 may be operable to for example, interpolate c×2 (“chip-by-2”) samples to c×16 (“chip-by-16”) samples. In this regard, the HSDPA interpolation and delay module 407 may adjust the sample rate such that the sample rate of signal 451 is the same as the sample rate of signal 422 would have been, had interference cancellation path been selected.

With regard to delaying the signal 326, the delay between a burst of signal 326 arriving at the HSDPA interpolation and delay module 407 and a corresponding burst of signal 451 being output by the HSDPA interpolation and delay module 407 may be equal, within a tolerance, to the delay between a burst of signal 326 arriving at the subtractor 405 and a corresponding burst of signal 422 being output by the subtractor 405. The delay introduced by the HSDPA interpolation and delay module 407 may be fixed and/or programmable.

The switching element 452 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to control whether received signals are processed via a HSDPA pass-through path or via an HSDPA interference cancellation path. In this regard, the switching element 452 may couple the signal 451 to the signal 328 for pass-through and may couple the signal 422 to the signal 328 for interference cancellation. The switching element 452 may be controlled via, for example, the processor 206 (FIG. 2).

The finger MUX 409 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to select from the plurality of signals 420 generated by the Per-Cell modules 403A-403D, the input signal from the delay buffer 304, or a non-cancelling finger input 424. In this manner, the finger MUX 409 may enable a pass-through mode, an interference cancelling mode, or a non-cancelling mode. In various embodiments of the invention, the finger MUX 409 may be operable to process the interference suppressed signals 420 generated by the per-cell modules 403A-403D in order to maintain compatibility with legacy rake receivers. In this regard, the signals 420 may be processed based on finger timing information and/or parameters to reintroduce channel effects, such as multipath effects, expected by the rake fingers. In this manner, the interference suppression module 302 may be added to existing rake receiver designs with minimal redesign of existing receiver components.

The interpolator 411 may comprise suitable circuitry, logic, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to interpolate a received signal, such as a c×1 signal and output a c×2 signal, for example.

The Per-Cell modules 403A-403D may each comprise suitable circuitry, logic, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to generate an estimate of a multi-user (e.g., WCDMA) and/or multipath chip-level signal transmitted by an associated BTS. The Per-Cell modules 403A-403D may process bursts—256-chip bursts, for example—of a multipath, multi-user signal. In this regard, a received signal 326 processed by the modules 403A-403D may comprise information received via one or more RF paths via one or more receive antennas from one or more transmit antennas of one or more BTSs, each BTS having up to J users. In this regard, each of the modules 403A-403D may be allocated for processing signals from a particular transmit antenna of a particular BTS and a signal from a particular transmit antenna may be received over one or more paths via one or more receive antennas. Accordingly, each of the modules 403A-403D may be operable to compensate for multipath effects, suppress interference from BTSs other than an associated or “serving” BTS, and suppress interference between users of the associated or “serving” BTS.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the four Per-Cell modules 403A-403D may be operable to cancel and/or suppress interference from four non-diversity transmit (Tx) cells, two Tx diversity cells, one Tx diversity cell and two non-Tx diversity cells, one Tx diversity cell with two scrambling codes per antenna, and/or one non Tx-diversity cell that has four scrambling codes. However, the invention need not be so limited, and may support any number of cells depending on the number of Per-Cell modules integrated in the interference cancellation module.

In operation the delayed received signal 326 may be conveyed to the subtractor 405 and to the HSDPA interpolation and delay block 407 in bursts. For each burst, the switching element may be controlled to select either the signal 451 or the signal 422. In this regard, whether signal 451 or signal 422 is selected may depend on one or more factors. Exemplary factors may comprise indications of interference present in the received signals. For example, measurements and/or processing of previous bursts of the signal 436 may provide an indication of interference in the present burst. Also, channel estimates associated with the present burst may provide an indication of interference present in the current burst. Similarly, location information and/or historical information gathered and/or available to the receiver 300 may be utilized to indicate interference that may be present.

In HSDPA pass-through mode, the signal 326 may be routed via the HSDPA interpolation and delay module 407, which may, for example, interpolate C×2 samples to C×16 samples and introduce a delay that equals the interference cancellation module 320 delay as if operating in HSDPA canceling mode.

In HSDPA canceling mode, the signal 422 output by the subtractor 405 may be selected by the switching element 452. In HSDPA cancellation mode, iterative processing comprising a weighting iteration; one or more addback, weighting, and un-addback iterations, and an addback iteration may be utilized for interference suppression.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for processing wireless signals, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the exemplary steps may begin with step 502 when a burst of a received wireless signal—an HSDPA signal, for example—is to be processed in a wireless communication device. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the received signal may be processed in 256-chip bursts, however, the invention is not limited with regard to the size of bursts that may be processed. Subsequent to step 502, the exemplary steps may advance to step 504.

In step 504, the wireless communication device may determine whether to process the burst via a pass-through processing path or via an interference cancellation processing path. The selection of processing path may be based on one or more indications of interference present or expected in said burst. The indications may, for example, be based on processing of previous bursts of the received wireless signal. In instances that the interference cancellation path is selected, the exemplary steps may advance to step 506.

In step 506, the burst may be processed to reduce interference. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, interference cancellation processing of the burst may comprise a weighting iteration; one or more addback, weighting, and un-addback iterations, and an addback iteration. Subsequent to step 506 the exemplary steps may advance to step 512.

In step 512, the signal burst may be further processed to recover information communicated in the burst. For example, the signal may be demodulated and/or decoded in accordance with HSDPA standards or protocols.

Returning to step 504, in instances that the pass-through processing path is selected, the exemplary steps may advance to step 508. In step 508, the sample rate of the burst may be adjusted. For example, the burst may be interpolated from c×2 to c×16. Subsequent to step 504, the exemplary steps may advance to step 510.

In step 510, the burst may be delayed to match a delay that would have been introduced by the interference cancellation path. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the burst may be delayed by a fixed number of chip times. Subsequent to step 510, the exemplary steps may advance to the previously described step 512.

Various aspects of a method and system for compensation of interference cancellation delay are provided. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a wireless communication device 114 may receive one or more signals and may be operable to dynamically select, via switching element 452, a processing path for processing the one or more signals. The selected processing path may comprise one of: an interference cancellation processing path such as the path from signal 326 to signal 422 of FIG. 4, and a pass-through processing path such as the path from signal 326 to signal 451 of FIG. 4. A delay introduced by the pass-through processing path may be approximately equal to a processing delay introduced by the interference cancellation processing path. That is the delay between a burst of signal 326 and a corresponding burst of signal 451 may be approximately equal to a delay between a burst of signal 326 and a corresponding burst of signal 422. The one or more signals may comprise HSDPA signals.

The switching element 452 may be controlled based on an indication of interference present in the one or more received signals. The processing path may be selected for each burst—256-chip burst, for example—of the one or more received signals. The indication of interference for a current burst may be based on one or more previous bursts. The pass-through processing path may adjust a sample rate of the one or more signals from c×2 to c×16. The one or more signals may be received from a base transceiver station, such as BTS 106 (FIG. 1), which is a non-listened base transceiver station, with regard to the wireless communication device 114. The selection of processing path may be performed for each of the one or more signals. Processing via the interference cancellation path may comprise a weighting iteration; one or more addback, weighting, and un-addback iterations; and an addback iteration. The delay introduced by the pass-through processing path and the interference cancellation processing path may be equal to a fixed number of chip times.

Another embodiment of the invention may provide a machine and/or computer readable storage and/or medium, having stored thereon, a machine code and/or a computer program having at least one code section executable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machine and/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for compensation of interference cancellation delay.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The present invention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least one computer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware and software may be a general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different material form.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: performing by one or more circuits and/or processors in a wireless communication device: selecting a path for processing of one or more received signals; and processing said one or more received signals via said selected processing path to recover information from said one or more signals, wherein: said selected processing path comprises one of an interference cancellation processing path and a pass-through processing path; and a delay introduced by said pass-through processing path is approximately equal to a processing delay introduced by said interference cancellation processing path.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said one or more received signals comprise HSDPA signals.
 3. The method according to claim 1, comprising dynamically selecting said processing path based on an indication of interference present in said one or more received signals.
 4. The method according to claim 1, comprising selecting said selected processing path for each burst of said one or more received signals.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein each said burst comprises a plurality of chips of said one or more received signals.
 6. The method according to claim 4, wherein an indication of interference for a current burst of said one or more signals is based on previous bursts of said one or more received signals.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said pass-through processing path adjusts a sample rate of said one or more received signals.
 8. The method according to claim 1, comprising receiving said one or more signals from a base transceiver station that is a non-listened base transceiver station with respect to said communication device.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein processing via said interference cancellation path comprises a weighting iteration, one or more addback, weighting, and un-addback iterations, and an addback iteration.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said delay introduced by said pass-through processing path and said delay introduced by said interference cancellation processing path are each equal to a fixed number of chip times of said one or more received signals.
 11. A system for wireless communication, the method comprising: one or more circuits and/or processors for use in a wireless communication device, wherein said one or more circuits and/or processors are operable to: select a path for processing of one or more received signals; and process said one or more received signals via said selected processing path to recover information from said one or more received signals, wherein: said selected processing path comprises one of an interference cancelling processing path and a pass-through processing path; and a delay introduced by said pass-through processing path is approximately equal to a processing delay introduced by said interference cancelling processing path.
 12. The system according to claim 11, wherein said one or more received signals comprise HSDPA signals.
 13. The system according to claim 11, wherein said one or more circuits and/or processors are operable to dynamically select said processing path based on an indication of interference present in said one or more received signals.
 14. The system according to claim 11, wherein said one or more circuits are operable to select said selected processing path for each burst of said one or more received signals.
 15. The system according to claim 14, wherein each said burst comprises a plurality of chips of said one or more received signals.
 16. The system according to claim 14, wherein an indication of interference for a current burst of said one or more signals is based on previous bursts of said one or more received signals.
 17. The system according to claim 11, wherein said pass-through processing path adjusts a sample rate of said one or more received signals.
 18. The system according to claim 11, wherein said one or more circuits and/or processors are operable to receive said one or more signals from a base transceiver station that is a non-listened base transceiver station with respect to said communication device.
 19. The system according to claim 11, wherein processing via said interference cancellation path comprises a weighting iteration, one or more addback, weighting, and un-addback iterations, and an addback iteration.
 20. The system according to claim 11, wherein said delay introduced by said pass-through processing path and said delay introduces by said interference cancellation processing path are each equal to a fixed number of chip times of the one or more received signals. 